Network configuration file for automatically transmitting images from an electronic still camera

ABSTRACT

A network configuration file is generated at a host computer and downloaded to a digital camera. This file contains instruction information for communicating with a selected destination via a communications interface. The digital camera includes a “send” button or LCD icon which allows the user to easily transmit one or more images via a wired or wireless communications interface to a desired destination, which among other possibilities may be an Internet Service Provider or a digital photofinishing center. When the user selects this option, the communications port settings, user account specifics, and destination connection commands are read from the network configuration file on the removable memory card. Examples of these settings include serial port baud rate, parity, and stop bits, as well as account name and password.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/783,437, filed Feb.14, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,256,823, which is a divisional ofapplication Ser. No. 09/004,046, filed Jan. 7, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No.6,784,924, which claims priority to provisional application Ser. No.60/037,962, filed Feb. 20, 1997.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and inparticular to electronic photography. More specifically, the inventionrelates to a digital camera that interfaces with a host computer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Digital cameras, such as the Kodak Digital Science DC25™ camera, allowimages to be utilized on a home computer (PC) and to be incorporatedinto e-mail documents and personal home pages on the World Wide Web.Presently, images must be copied to the PC and transmitted as e-mail,for example using an online service or an Internet Service Provider(ISP), via a modem from the user's PC. It would be desirable to be ableto transmit pictures directly from the digital camera instead of firsttransferring the pictures to a PC. For instance, on a vacation trip, itis desirable to immediately share pictures with friends or relatives viae-mail or Internet access. It is also desirable to transmit picturesfrom a location without PC access in order to free up camera storage totake additional pictures. There are a wide variety of connection meansto online services such as America On Line, ISPs, and bulletin boardservices. Each of these services typically requires an account name andpassword, as well as local telephone access numbers, and specificcommunications settings. It would be difficult to provide an easy-to-usemeans with buttons or menus on a small digital camera to input and/ormodify all of these required settings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of theproblems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect ofthe present invention, a network configuration file is generated at ahost computer and downloaded to a digital camera. This file containsinstruction information for communicating with a selected destinationvia a communications interface. The digital camera includes a “send”button or LCD icon which allows the user to easily transmit one or moreimages via a wired or wireless communications interface to a desireddestination, which among other possibilities may be an Internet ServiceProvider or a digital photofinishing center. When the user selects thisoption, the communications port settings, user account specifics, anddestination connection commands are read from the network configurationfile. Examples of these settings include serial port baud rate, parity,and stop bits, as well as account name and password.

In addition, information about which image or images to transmit isentered using the user buttons on the digital camera. This informationis used to automatically establish a connection, log-in to the desireddestination, and to transmit the image. The transmission may occurimmediately after the pictures are taken, for example if the camera hasa built-in cellular phone modem, or at a later time, when the camera isconnected to a separate unit (such as a dock, kiosk, PC, etc.) equippedwith a modem. In the latter case, a “utilization file” is created toprovide information on which images should be transmitted to whichaccount.

These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a reviewof the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments andappended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the steps used to automatically transmitimages using the network configuration file.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an image file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing several versions of the networkconfiguration file.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Because imaging systems and devices are well known, the presentdescription will be directed in particular to elements forming part of,or cooperating more directly with, apparatus in accordance with thepresent invention. Elements not specifically shown or described hereinmay be selected from those known in the art. Some aspects of the presentdescription may be implemented in software. Unless otherwise specified,all software implementation is conventional and within the ordinaryskill in the programming arts.

A system block diagram of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 including anelectronic still camera 10, a host computer (PC) 12 and a serviceprovider 14. The camera includes an optical section 20 for imaging ascene upon a CCD sensor 22 and generating an image signal, a liquidcrystal display (LCD) 24 for displaying images and other information, anumber of user input buttons 26, both permanent memory 28 and removablememory 30, and an internal communications interface 32 (e.g., modem).This interface may connect to a variety of known networks, such as apublic switched telephone network (PSTN), ISDN, an RF cellular phonenetwork, or Ethernet. The camera 10 also includes a microprocessor 34for generally controlling the camera functions, as well as theinterchange of data with the host PC 12 and the memory card 30 through ahost PC interface 36 and a memory card interface 38, respectively.Besides the host PC 12, the system includes a network connection 40 tothe online service or ISP (Internet Service Provider) 14. Alternately,the network 40 can connect to the user's home PC 12.

When the camera 10 is first purchased (or at any time thereafter), it isconnected to the PC 12 via the host PC 36 interface and a softwareapplication (stored on a disc 45) running on the host PC 12 will enablethe user to specify the name of a destination ISP or online service andto input from the host PC keyboard 44 the appropriate communicationsettings and account information. This information generates a networkconfiguration file, which then can then be downloaded to the camera 10through the host PC interface 36, which may be a wired or infrared(e.g., IrDA) interface, and written to the camera's internal memory 28and/or the removable memory card 30. Alternatively, a host PC equippedwith a memory card reader/writer 42 can write the information directlyto the card 30 without connecting the camera through its host PCinterface 36. Also, this information could be predetermined by the userand stored in a “preferences” file on the host PC 12 and thentransferred to the camera 10 from this file without further interventionby the user. Multiple sets of destination services can be stored on thememory card 30. Typically, keyword or graphic descriptors (e.g., icons)accompany the information in the network configuration file aboutdestination services to enable easy access by the camera user.

The steps used to automatically transmit images using the networkconfiguration file are shown in FIG. 2. After disconnecting the camerafrom the host PC, the user operates the camera to take pictures (step50). This is typically done at a remote location, for example whiletraveling to another city. As the user takes or reviews images on theimage LCD display, the decision can be made to transmit one or moreimages (step 52). This is done by choosing one of the keywords or iconsin a menu 54 shown in FIG. 2, which are displayed on the LCD 24 andselected, e.g., through the user buttons 26. (Note that a camera willtypically only include a subset (only those desired by the user) of allthe different services shown.) The selected image files may be taggedwith a code (step 56) indicating which service is requested, as shown inFIG. 3. (Alternately, an “image utilization” file can be created in thecamera storing a list of images to be transmitted by a particularmethod, as described in the cross-referenced copending patentapplication (U.S. Ser. No. 60/037,963). As described in that patentapplication, the details of an order, e.g., number of print copies to bemade from an image and the size of the prints and/or a list of images tobe e-mailed to various recipients, is written into the “utilization”file, which identifies the order and includes pointers to the imagefiles that store the images required to “fulfill” the order. The“utilization” file is stored in the internal memory 28 or the memorycard 30.)

Next, the system determines whether a request exists to send an image(step 58). If no request is present, the image and associated data isstored in either permanent memory 28 or the memory card 30 (step 59).(Typically, all images are initially saved in memory whether eventuallysent or not.) Otherwise, if there is a request to send an image, theuser ensures that the camera is connected to the appropriate service(wired telephone line, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.) and pushes a “send”button in the user button section 26, or selects a “send” menu option onthe LCD 24. The camera then utilizes the appropriate networkconfiguration file, shown in FIG. 4. Each network configuration filecontains items such as the protocol type, phone number, etc., asdescribed in Appendix I. The user password may be checked against thepassword in the network configuration file to ensure that the user isauthorized to connect the camera to the desired service (step 60).Alternately, the stored password in the appropriate configuration filecan be used. Next, the camera uses the parameters in the configurationfile to establish communications with the service and send one or moreimage files as selected by the user (steps 62). The service receiverinterprets the system commands issued by the camera from the networkconfiguration file list and sends appropriate feedback (such as“transfer in progress” and “transfer complete”) which are interpreted bythe camera and displayed on the LCD 24 (steps 64).

For example, when the camera uses a normal wired telephone (PublicSwitched Telephone Network) connection (i.e., network 40) to thecamera's internal modem 32, after the user selects the images to be sentand presses the “send” button, the camera performs the following stepswithout user intervention:

-   1) Read the appropriate connection parameters from the network    configuration file (on the memory card 30 or internal camera memory    28), dial the phone and establish the connection to the destination    service 14.-   2) Read the user's account name and password and transmit these to    “log-on” to the service 14.-   3) Using the appropriate communications protocol (FTP, mailto,    etc.), transmit the selected image or images to the destination    service 14.

The invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations andmodifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

APPENDIX I

These are descriptions of the tags listed in the previous drawing:

Protocol Type

Each communication method has its own protocol, or rules to communicate.This tag identifies that protocol and where to find it. For example, theNetwork may use TCP/IP and a modem may use XModem.

Phone Number

This is the number of the receiving service. If internet access isrequested, this could be the number of the Internet Service Provider.For ISDN, some systems require two phone numbers, dialed and connectedto in sequence.

Default Settings

Standard settings that make the communications device compatible withthe imaging device.

Modem Control String

Modem and communications devices have a command language that can setthem up before they are used. For example, modems have many optionscontrolled by command strings including volume level, the amount of timethe carrier is allowed to fail before the system hangs up, and so on.

Account Data

This can be internet account data, charge number data, phone card data,billing address, and data related to the commerce part of thetransmission.

Password

Any password needed to get into the communications system. Otherpasswords to get into the remote application or destination are locatedin the System Commands section.

System Commands

These are commands that control the end destination.

Error Protocol

In cellular and some other wireless communications, error protocols areused to increase the robustness of the link. For example, MNP10 or ETCmay be used for cellular links.

Radio Type

The type of radio used for this communications feature may be identifiedhere. Some cell phones have modems built in, others will have protocolsfor many communications functions built in. The radio type will make theimaging device adapt to the correct interface.

IOC

ISDN Ordering Code identifies what features are available on the ISDNline provided by the teleco. It is used to establish the feature set forthat communications link.

Internet Service Provider

This identifies the actual service provider and any specific informationor sequence of information that the service wants to see duringconnection and logoff. It also tells the device how to handle the returnmessages, like “time used” that are returned by the server.

Commands to Receiver

This may be a list of commands to control the receiving application. Forexample, a command to print one of the images and save the data to aparticular file on a PC may be embedded here.

Return Status Requests

This tag can set up the ability of the application to tell if an errorhas occurred, or what the status of the application might be. The datahere will help the device decide if it should continue communicating anda set user interface response can be developed around this feedback.

1. An electronic camera comprising: a sensor for capturing images; amemory; a processor coupled to the memory for controlling thetransmission of one or more captured images from the camera via aselected one of a plurality of communications interfaces, the pluralityof communications interfaces including at least a communicationsinterface of a first type and a communications interface of a secondtype; and a user interface for selecting one of the plurality ofcommunications interfaces for use in transmitting the one or morecaptured images; the user interface comprising a first selectableelement identifying the communications interface of the first type, anda second selectable element identifying the communications interface ofthe second type; the memory storing first and second networkconfiguration files containing information for communicating via therespective communications interfaces of the first and second types;wherein responsive to selection of a particular one of the selectableelements identifying the respective communications interfaces of thefirst and second types, the processor retrieves the correspondingnetwork configuration file from the memory, and utilizes the informationin the retrieved network configuration file in controlling thetransmission of the one or more captured images; and wherein the memorycomprises at least one of an internal memory of the camera and aremovable memory card of the camera.
 2. The camera as claimed in claim 1wherein a given one of the network configuration flies is generated atleast in part in a host device connectable to the camera, based oninformation previously stored in the host device.
 3. The camera asclaimed in claim 2 wherein the generated network configuration file issubsequently downloaded from the host device into the memory of thecamera.
 4. The camera as claimed in claim 1 wherein the user interfacecomprises a display, and at least one of the first and second selectableelements comprises an alphanumeric descriptor presented on the display.5. The camera as claimed in claim 1 wherein the user interface comprisesa display, and at least one of the first and second selectable elementscomprises a graphic descriptor presented on the display.
 6. The cameraas claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the communicationsinterfaces of the first and second types comprises a communicationsinterface that connects to a destination via a public switched telephonenetwork.
 7. The camera as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of thecommunications interfaces of the first and second types comprises acommunications interface that connects to a destination via a cellularnetwork.
 8. The camera as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first andsecond network configuration files comprise information identifyingrespective first and second service providers.
 9. The camera as claimedin claim 8 wherein the first and second network configuration filesfurther comprise information enabling connection to the respective firstand second service providers.
 10. The camera as claimed in claim 1wherein at least one of the communications interfaces of The first andsecond types is located internal to the camera.
 11. An electronic cameracomprising: a sensor for capturing images; a memory; a processor coupledto the memory for controlling the transmission of one or more capturedimages from the camera via a selected one of a plurality ofcommunications interfaces, the plurality of communications interfacesincluding at least a communications interface of a first type and acommunications interface of a second type; and a user interface forselecting one of the plurality of communications interfaces for use intransmitting the one or more captured images; the user interfacecomprising a first selectable element identifying the communicationsinterface of the first type, and a second selectable element identifyingthe communications interface of the second type; the memory storingfirst and second network configuration files containing information forcommunicating via the respective communications interfaces of the firstand second types; wherein responsive to selection of a particular one ofthe selectable elements identifying the respective communicationsinterfaces of the first and second types, the processor retrieves thecorresponding network configuration file from the memory. and utilizesthe information in the retrieved network configuration file incontrolling the transmission of the one or more captured images; andwherein at least one of the communications interfaces of the first andsecond types comprises a communications interface that connects to adestination via a satellite network.
 12. The camera as claimed in claim11 wherein at least one of the communications interfaces of the firstand second types comprises a communications interface that connects to adestination via a wired or wireless data network.
 13. An electroniccamera comprising: a sensor for capturing images; a memory; a processorcoupled to the memory for controlling the transmission of one or morecaptured images from the camera yia a selected one of a plurality ofcommunications interfaces, the plurality of communications interfacesincluding at least a communications interface of a first type and acommunications interface of a second type; and a user interface forselecting one of the plurality of communications interfaces for use intransmitting the one or more captured images; the user interfacecomprising a first selectable element identifying the communicationsinterface of the first type, and a second selectable element identifyingthe communications interface of the second type; the memory storingfirst and second network configuration files containing information forcommunicating via the respective communications interfaces of the firstand second types; wherein responsive to selection of a particular one ofthe selectable elements identifying the respective communicationsinterfaces of the first and second types, the processor retrieves thecorresponding network configuration file from the memory, and utilizesthe information in the retrieved network configuration file incontrolling the transmission of the one or more captured images; andwherein the communications interfaces of the first and second typesprovide communication with respective first and second destinationshaving respective first and second sets of connection parametersassociated therewith.
 14. An electronic camera comprising: a sensor forcapturing images; a memory; a processor coupled to the memory forcontrolling the transmission of one or more captured images from thecamera via a selected one of a plurality of communications interfaces,the plurality of communications interfaces including at least acommunications interface of a first type and a communications interfaceof a second type; and a user interface for selecting one of theplurality of communications interfaces for use in transmitting the oneor more captured images; the user interface comprising a firstselectable element identifying the communications interface of the firsttype, and a second selectable element identifying the communicationsinterface of the second type; the memory storing first and secondnetwork configuration files containing information for communicating viathe respective communications interfaces of the first and second types;wherein responsive to selection of a particular one of the selectableelements identifying the respective communications interfaces of thefirst and second types, the processor retrieves the correspondingnetwork configuration file from the memory, and utilizes the informationin the retrieved network configuration file in controlling thetransmission of the one or more captured images; and wherein thecommunications interfaces of the first and second types utilize commoncommunication hardware but different connection parameters tocommunicate with respective first and second destinations.
 15. Anelectronic camera comprising: a sensor for capturing images; a memory; aprocessor coupled to the memory for controlling the transmission of oneor more captured images from the camera via a selected one of aplurality of communications interfaces, the plurality of communicationsinterfaces including at least a communications interface of a first typeand a communications interface of a second type; and a user interfacefor selecting one of the plurality of communications interfaces for usein transmitting the one or more captured images; the user interfacecomprising a first selectable element identifying the communicationsinterface of the first type, and a second selectable element identifyingthe communications interface of the second type; the memory storingfirst and second network configuration files containing information forcommunicating via the respective communications interfaces of the firstand second types; wherein responsive to selection of a particular one ofthe selectable elements identifying the respective communicationsinterfaces of the first and second types, the processor retrieves thecorresponding network configuration file from the memory, and utilizesthe information in the retrieved network configuration file incontrolling the transmission of the one or more captured images; andwherein the first and second network configuration files compriserespective first and second passwords for accessing respective first andsecond destinations via the respective communications interfaces of thefirst and second types.
 16. An eletronic camera comprising: a memory; aprocessor for controlling the transmission of one or more images fromthe camera via a selected one of a plurality of network connectiontypes; and a user interface for selecting one of the plurality ofnetwork connection types; the user interface comprising a displaypresenting a first selectable element identifying a first one of thenetwork connection types, and a second selectable element identifying asecond one of the network connection types; the memory storing first andsecond network configuration files containing information forestablishing connections for the respective first and second networkconnection types; wherein in conjunction with transmission of The one ormore images, the processor retrieves the corresponding networkconfiguration file from the memory, and utilizes The information in theretrieved network configuration file to establish a connection fortransmitting the images in accordance with the corresponding networkconnection type; and wherein the memory comprises at least one of aninternal memory of the camera and a removable memory card of the camera.17. The camera as claimed in claim 16 wherein a given one of the networkconfiguration files is generated at least in part in a host deviceconnectable to the camera, based on information previously stored in thehost device.